Ex-PBKS Star, IPL's One-Season Wonder, Retires From First-Class Cricket

The cricketer rose to fame on the back of a great run in IPL 2011.

The ex-PBKS star was also briefly the leading run-getter in IPL 2011. The Orange Cap was eventually won by Chris Gayle that season.

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The Indian Premier League (IPL) has given a platform to several youngsters to showcase their talent and rub shoulders against some of the best in the world. While some have gone on to announce their arrival at the grand stage and then make a name for themselves in international cricket, a few did show glimpses of what they were capable of but failed to back it up with consistent performances. Often included in IPL's one-season wonder lists is former Punjab Kings batter Paul Valthaty who announced his retirement from first-class cricket on Monday.

"I was extremely lucky and proud to have represented many teams in my career from India Blue in the Challenger trophy,India U-19 and the Mumbai Senior team and all age group teams. I would take this opportunity to thank The BCCI and MCA who have always been supportive to me and many such cricketers like me," Valthaty wrote in his email to Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) as quoted in a report by the Indian Express.



Valthaty rose to fame in 2011 when he became the 13th batter in the history of the tournament to score a century. He achieved the feat while playing for Punjab Kings, then known as the Kings XI Punjab, against Chennai Super Kings at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium. Valthaty, who overcame partial loss of vision due to an injury to reach this stage, ended up accumulating a total of 463 runs that season from 14 games at an average of 35.61 and a strike rate touching 137.

However, in the following seasons, he couldn't replicate that form with 30 runs in 6 matches in the following season. He last played an IPL match in 2013 which was his solitary game in that edition of the tournament where he scored 6 runs.

"I would also like to thank the IPL and both my teams Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings who I had the good fortune of representing and was the first player from Mumbai and the 4th Indian to score a century in the IPL," he added in that email.

In his first class career, Valthaty played 5 matches, scoring 120 runs.